Cracked Cheesecake Emergency

Q: What is the secret to making a good cheesecake? I have made 2 and they both ended up with a crack in the middle after I took them out of the oven. --Joyce Eager

A: There are very few things sadder than a cracked cheesecake ... one that has dried out during cooking to the point that fissures run willy-nilly across the surface. Nothing to do for it but slather on the whipped cream or thick fruit topping to hide your failure. But there IS one small step you can take that will reduce the likelihood of cracks tremendously.

When making fondue, the great secret to keeping the cheese from clumping while melting is to dust the cheese pieces with cornstarch before melting. The cornstarch elbows in between the proteins, keeping them from bunching together. The same rule works with cheesecake. The cornstarch keeps the egg and milk proteins from clumping and thus squeezing out moisture, causing cracks. Add about a tablespoon to a full-sized cheesecake recipe when you add in the sugar. This, combined with a water-bath cooking method, will ensure cheesecake so smooth your baker will be envious.

Q: Can boxed mixes be used to make muffins? I have several lemon cake mixes and wondered if I could somehow transform them into perhaps lemon poppy seed muffins by adding a few ingredients. Any suggestions? --Lorri Camilleri

A: If you look on the side panel of most cake mixes, they'll have instructions for baking as muffins. As a rule of thumb, keep the cooking temperature the same, but trim the time by a few minutes. Check with a toothpick to determine doneness.

The great thing about experimenting with box mixes is you're not putting out all the time and fresh ingredients you are working from scratch. In your case, Lorri, I'd add a sprinkle of poppy seeds to the top of each muffin before baking, and perhaps a sprinkle of lemon zest as well.

Q: My mother is having trouble thickening the berry filling for a pie. She is using frozen wild berries and can't seem to thicken the filling for her pie. She said she has used the usual, flour, cornstarch, but neither of them has worked. Please help. --Judy

A: Cornstarch should do the trick for thickening the berry filling. Remember that it needs to come to a boil or near-boil to reach its full thickening potential. If you're adding the cornstarch but not heating the filling high enough, you'll end up adding way too much and having a seriously gummy, inedible pie after baking.

If you've got the time, and are using macerated fresh fruit, making a reduction is another way to thicken your filling and concentrate the flavor simultaneously. Be VERY careful, though, as it's easy to burn the fruit sugars and ruin the batch. I wouldn't recommend trying this unless you've previously made a number of reductions for sauces and are comfortable with doing so.

Q: What is a good homemade batter that can be used when frying meats such as chicken? I use flour with a little salt and pepper, but more of it winds up in the bottom of the pan than on the meats. --Denise Hall

A: I spent over a decade fiddling with fried chicken. I tried all kinds of flours/batters. I tried adding cornmeal. I tried bread crumbs. Nothing gave me the results I was looking for.

Then, in one 30-minute show, Alton Brown, host of FoodTV's "Good Eats," showed me the error of my ways, and I haven't made a bad batch of fried chicken since.

The biggest secret, to me, is the buttermilk soak. Soak your cut chicken pieces overnight in lowfat buttermilk. This creates a protein "pellicle" around the meat that will hold in moisture and help the flour stick well.

Another secret: don't add spices to your flour! Put them directly on the meat before rolling in the flour. I know, I know, a certain BAM-happy TV chef carps endlessly about making sure you season your flour. The problem with that is that certain spices burn when you put them in the hot oil, leading to burnt flecks in the coating that just don't taste very good. By protecting the seasonings under the flour, you allow them to season the meat without scorching.

For more information on Alton's fried chicken method, head to The Good Eats Fan Page and look up "Fry Hard II: The Chicken."

Q: Can you freeze butter? --Anonymous

A: This time of year, this is a common dilemma. You've bought pounds and pounds of butter for your holiday baking, and you end up with more left over than you'll use before it goes rancid.

Wrapped properly in heavy-duty foil (with the original wax paper left intact), butter will keep up to nine months in your freezer. Be sure to keep some baking soda in the freezer to absorb odors, as butter is a flavor magnet and will pick any lingering "off" tastes.

Q: Could you tell me why my chocolate chip cookies spread so much when I bake them? I would like to make some that are thick, similar to the ones that you can buy in the coffee shops and such but mine turn out very thin and spread out. I am using the Original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and baking them on shiny silver insulated baking sheets, in my convection oven. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you so much. --Kim Hamilton

Chill your dough thoroughly, preferably overnight, before cooking and you'll eliminate a lot of the spreading problem. I also recommend not using the insulated sheets. They slow the cooking process unnaturally. Use regular cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for best results.

I just finished baking roughly 20 dozen chocolate chip cookies this past weekend, and didn't have a bad batch in the bunch!

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